Key Moments
by Fido123a
Summary: The smallest things change have the biggest impact. (ONE SHOT...for now).


**AN: I really wanted to actually write this one out but couldn't figure out where I wanted to take. Hell I might actually pick it back up one day.**

 **-If you're inspired by then by all means go ahead (just PM me or something so I know who to watch out for...)**

 **-There's a TV reference in here somewhere... Virtual cookies to whoever gets it**

 **::::-::::**

A little blond boy we all know and love was thinking (shocking, I know).

 _'Why do all these people hate me? I'm not any different or anything. They don't look at the old man like that. Wait, maybe if I'm wearing that hat then they'd stop hating me... It's decided, I'll become Hokage!'_

He fist pumped into the air, excited for his little plan. If this was the story we're all familiar with, that'd be the end of it.

Well, its not. In a rare flash of his father's brilliance, his line of thought came back.

 _'Hold on. have do something in the mean time. People aren't going to believe me. Hell, going around and yelling it at people might make them not like me even more. Even the ones who don't hate already find me annoying because of my pranks...'_

His mood dropped a little. Just when he found a solution for one problem, he ran into another. Then the idea came that changed everything.

 _'... Wait! That's it! If they won't believe me as Hokage, then I'll give them another title to call me by.'_

He knew for this to work, the announcement had to be big. Something so big, in fact, it overshadowed the reason everyone hated him (whatever that was). He was loving this already. You could tell by the evil grin on his face and the way he rubbed his hands together.

So, he got to work planning, scouting locations, and making preparations. The whole time he was inadvertently training himself in stealth, recon, and strategy. Would he ever be a genius? No, there was no changing that. Impulsive personality is a major

This one decision changed him from the loudmouthed knucklehead to the slightly less loud, surprisingly smart knucklehead (let's face facts, those two things are never going to change about him).

One day, on one of his scouting mission around the village, he was in a market street when he suddenly fell on his face. When he got up he noticed two things.

First, there was a ninja running ahead of him accidentally knocking other people down as well. He concluded that the guy was fresh out of the academy. And that he was late, if his state of panic was anything to go by.

Second, there was a fully stocked ninja pouch on the ground. The guy who ran into him must've dropped it. Yeah, he was definitely new at this. He picked it up, but when he looked to return it, the guy was already out of sight.

 _'Oh well, maybe the old man can find out who's it is later.'_

With that he continued his mission, find and memorize places around the village with lots of people... Or are important. His plan was simple, simultaneously prank as many people at once. The higher ranking the better. Everyone still might not like him but hey, at least they have some different to think about when they did. Besides, he can always get them to respect him when he's Hokage, so this is temporary. Yup, the market was a good spot, and he had like seven already picked out.

Yes, that's right, he's also engaging in psychological warfare. Cover up one vague passive quality with a worse, active one..not that he knew what he was doing.

It was getting late so he decided to try and turn in that pouch. When reached the Hokage's office he just had to slam the door open and announce himself. How else would an old man hear him? Don't old people loose their hearing or something?

"Hey old man!"

Hiruzen could only chuckle, use to the kid's antics by now.

"Yes Naruto? What is it you need?"

He welcomed the distraction from the evil menace called paperwork. Naruto held up the pouch and explained his appearance this fine evening.

"Yeah, I was in the market today and dude dropped this after running into me. I'm not sure if he was in a hurry or what, he didn't look like he notice it was missing."

"I see hand it here."

Naruto did as he was told and the old man looked through it to see if the owner had left any identifying mark. When found none he could only sigh. What was this village coming to? Oh well, least he had a back up idea. The two books in there should really be a boon to Naruto's career. Plus, if he studied them, they should help keep his more troublesome habits under lock.

Any petty punishment was always the best. Not that anyone need to know that (it was a trade secret after all).

"Well, looks like he didn't put his name on it so... I guess it's yours now."

"Really?!"

"Yes"

"Awesome! Thanks old man!"

"No need. No there are two books in there for you to learn from, I want you studying these. I might even quiz you from time to time."

"Aww man... Do I have to!?"

"Yes you do or I take everything back. Besides, being Hokage means learning to be a ninja first and any good ninja knows the basics."

"Fine, I'll do it... But I won't be happy about it."

"Shame, I was going to offer to buy you ramen if you did well enough."

That got his attention.

"I'm going to ace this!"

After giving the old man a big grin and thumbs up he was off to his apartment. Once got there he immediately dug in the pouch and pulled the books out.

...And promptly realized his ability to read was sub par to say the least. He could make out bits and pieces but not enough for the whole picture. He'd normally ask the old man to help him but he was specifically instructed to study on his own (he really wasn't... not that the Hokage would correct him). Oh well, he'd find a study partner later.

He did figure out how to make paint bombs...and that was enough for him. He would spend the next few days making as many as he could. It was probably the longest he focused on learning something at this point in his short life. Probably had something to do with the fact that having half the village covered in paint was a payoff worth learning for.

Now it was time to make the sign. It would have to be huge enough to be seen by everyone.

Honestly, planning the prank was turning out to be just as much fun as pranking itself. Maybe he could plan out more pranks like this in the future.

Would it work? Would it fail? It was like waiting for a movie with his favorite actress in it (Yukie was super pretty).

He began targeting ninja with smaller pranks. This served the dual purposes of distracting them and testing certain ideas.

If anyone found out how intensive this prank was...well they'd probably be surprised that it came from him more than anything. It could rival a small scale military operation (It'd more than likely loose but it'd still be in the running)

What better way to start his ninja education by pulling off what technically qualified as an offensive operation?

He wasn't the only one affected by his decisions, not by a long shot.

One certain little raven haired boy was walking down a street he normally had no business being on. Why? Well one of Naruto's diversions caused his normal route to be blocked off (dogs, paint, and ramen...yeah, not pleasant).

The boy wasn't at all happy. His older brother didn't have time for him (Itachi and his team were on the clean up crew.) and the opening ceremony for the academy was canceled.

What was he supposed to do? His only plans for the day were to get his work done and maybe catch a bit of itachi's training.

Now all young Sasuke could do was take the long way home while kicking a can and grumbling about stupid blondes. The kid and his pranks were getting more and more annoying. Well, that was until he heard someone crying. Looking up from his can, he saw three boys surrounding as a girl about his age.

From the looks of things the boys were bullying her. That was not okay.

His mother had taught him that girls were to be respected (he'd totally reverse his position on this later.. But those girls were annoying).

With that he walked over, moved the boys aside, and knelt beside the girl curled up in a ball on the ground.

"Hey, hey... Are you alright?"

Upon hearing the new voice, she peaked through her hair.

The fear in her lavender eye met the concern in his onyx one. He waited for an answer and she remained like a deer in the headlights. One thing he noticed only added to his anger, the tears running down her face.

Then the bullies figured they had enough of being ignored.

"Hey punk, this is none of your business. Why don't you get out of here?"

Well, there was no accounting for brains here. Sasuke had to fight a smirk at having finally having found an outlet for the day's frustration.

"It's not okay to make girls cry."

Before anyone could respond, the first one received a good punch to the gut. It left him on the ground clutching his stomach.

The next boy tried to charge at the intruder. He was met with a sweeping kick that sent him to the ground with his friend.

Sasuke glared at the remaining bully. He didn't expect the first one to recover and grab him from behind. It seemed this was all the last one needed to charge, his fist at the ready.

Everyone forgets about the legs. Something Sasuke promptly demonstrated by kicking the approaching bully in the face before he could be punched. He followed up with a headbutt to the one behind him.

Once freed, the raven hairs boy walked over to the girl. He helped her up and proceeded to check for injuries.

"You okay?"

She was too stunned to respond. The sight before her was the three boys from earlier on the ground in pain. A hand in front of her faced brought her back to reality.

"Oh.. Um, y-yes I'm fine."

"Okay, good my name's Sasuke. Do you have a name?"

"Y-Yes... Oh! M-My name is Hinata."

The sound of something being caught caused Sasuke to turn around. They were met with the sight of Itachi holding a rock and the second bully from earlier trembling. Then his older brother spoke to the kid.

"Leave, it's in your best interest."

This bully proceeded to turn tail and run as fast as he could. The stoic turned to face his little brother and sighed.

"What have I told you about fighting?"

The younger Uchiha wouldn't have it.

"They started it! They made a girl cry and mom said it's not okay to make girls cry."

They also provided a convenient stress relief for the stupid things the day had put him through...but Itachi didn't need to know that.

"That doesn't mean you had to resort to violence. There were other solutions, little brother."

Sasuke simply crossed his arms and pouted.

"Hmph, not like you were here to know that."

The older one could only pinch the bridge of his nose. He loved his little brother to death but sometimes he could be frustrating to deal with.

"Did you even look for another away? Or did you immediately pick a fight?"

His inquiry was met with silence and sulking.

"As I thought. That aside, I'm here to collect you for dinner, mother insisted."

"It's dinner time already?"

"Indeed it is, do you remember what day it is?"

Sasuke tilted his head in confusion. It took him a few seconds but once he got it his face brightened more than anyone thought possible for an Uchiha. Then, to everyone's further surprise, he was jumping for joy.

"It's curry day! Mom didn't forget to go to the market did she? I hope she didn't. It won't be as good without the tomatoes."

Itachi could only smirk, it was nice to see his little brother act like the child he was.

"I'm sure she remembered. Now come on, you don't want to be late, do you?"

They made it a few steps before Sasuke paused mid-step like he forgot something. He then turned around ran back to the girl he saved.

"Hey, you wanna come over? My mom makes the best curry in the whole village! You won't be disappointed."

Hinata could only giggle a bit at his actions.

"No, no, that's quite alright. I wouldn't want to impose. I must be getting home now, my father will want to know where I am."

Now, Sasuke wasn't use to being told no by anyone other than Itachi or his parents. This on top of the fact that he thought she was laughing at him (well, she kinda was, but not in the way he thought), it wasn't long before he was pouting again. His reaction had Hinata worried. Was he mad at her? They had just met and he was already mad at her. Then he grumbled something.

"It's impolite to refuse an invitation you know."

She jumped a bit when she heard that. Then came the frantic apologetic hand gestures and worried look.

"N-no, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be rude! Please don't be mad! I'd love to have dinner with you and your family!"

While apologizing and trying to make up for her (nonexistent) misbehavior, she may have said certain things without thinking. She only realized her mistake when Sasuke was beaming at her. Then he spoke, confirming her fears.

"Great! Come on, I'll show you the way. My mom's going to like you. She's the kindest person I know! Dad might not, but then again he doesn't like anybody. He's always so angry at everything..."

He was talking so fast Hinata couldn't even get a single word in. That, and he had a firm grip on her wrist so escape wasn't an option. Still, she was glad he wasn't angry with her anymore. Who knows, this might be fun. She only hoped her father wouldn't be too angry with her for missing dinner. It could be nice to have a new friend.

Neither of them noticed the smile on Itachi's face. It may have been soft and subtle but it was there. If it was up to him, Sasuke would always be like this, an innocent child. In his opinion children had no place on the battle field. Besides, maybe having a friend his own age could be good for his little bro. Maybe even help him keep a good head on his shoulders and NOT end up a typical stuck up "I'm better than everyone" Uchiha (Holy hell could the world use less of those).

Itachi Uchiha knew one thing for certain at that moment, dinner was going to completely uncomfortable tonight. And that was putting it lightly.

If there was one academy student glad about the change in schedule, it was one Sakura Haruno. This was mainly because of certain insecurities she held about her physical appearance. Well, that and her low self-esteem (yeah, a prime target for bullies). Now she had one more day to figure things out. Come up with some kind of plan to draw attention away from herself and hopefully go unknown.

She was silently thanking whoever it was that caused the chaos that day.

The first week went by alright enough. No one bothered her and her grades were doing great. Maybe the good fortune caused her to lower her guard because it wasn't long before the teasing began. It wasn't too bad in the beginning, just a rude remark here or there. Nothing she couldn't brush off or ignore.

Then the bullying came into the picture (honestly, it would seem that Konoha had a serious problem with the issue). Yeah, it was a little harder to ignore when daily attention was brought to her forehead. Same pack of girls each time, and it was obvious the leader was the one named Ami. This is when trying to be unnoticed backfired. Well, that and she didn't have the will to say anything (lack of self-esteem will do that to you).

Her life took a dramatic turn when one day a familiar scene played out very differently than anyone expected it to.

Normally the bullies would corner her, pick on her till they got bored, then be gone. Well, the first two parts went exactly as they usually do until a faint yelling noise getting closer. Then something landed right in between poor little Sakura and her tormentors.

When the dust settled it revealed a little blonde boy wearing goggles on his forehead. Mud and paint were caked sporadically all over him. The only place completely untouched was the area around his eyes where Hus goggles would've been. He groaned a bit as he tried to stand up. He made it to a sitting position before giving up on further elevation. He began popping his joints and mumbled to himself.

"Guess it was a longer jump than I thought."

Sakura just stared at him with an intense feeling of curiosity. Where did he come from? Just what was he doing that made him so filthy? His question to the group broke her from her thoughts.

"Hey! Have you guys seen a pig come through here? He'd be about this big. Maybe painted orange.. Have you?"

They all just stared at him blankly. Was this kid serious? Just then, said pig came charging up to him. They seemed familiar with each other. Sakura just had one thought.

 _'What an odd choice of pet. Who keeps a pig?'_

Elsewhere the legendary Lady Tsunade was about to win big on a game of dice (so big in fact that she would've been able to square a lot of debts)...only to sneeze at the last possible second and loose everything.

"There you are! Haha, you did good buddy, even I had a hard time catching you! You could wait for the signal next time."

The boy stood up and dusted himself off. He was about to leave when Ami decided to open her mouth.

"Why don't you take your stupid pig and leave?"

Yeah, really no accounting for brains at all when it comes to bullies. The response was both hilarious and unexpected.

"ATTACK!"

Then pig then proceeded to charge at the group and chase them around for a bit.

Curiosity turned to shock as the pinkette crouched on the ground couldn't believe it. The damn pig was trained! She soon couldn't help herself and burst with laughter. This seemed to get the boy's attention.

"You like that huh? Yeah, it took me weeks to train him. Hard work I tell you. Worth it though."

When they both turned to look at each other, they had different reactions. He was stunned, she was embarrassed and look away. It would've remained awkward if he hadn't realized he'd been staring. He shook free of his thoughts and nervously scratched the back of his head.

"Uh... Sorry, I guess we start with names? Mine is Na-"

He was struck in the head with a tomatoes with enough force to send him back to the ground. Sakura turned to look at where it had come from only to find an angry mob covered almost completely in mud, confetti and orange.

"They found us! RUN PIGLEY RUN!"

The boy and the pig were gone. She just stared in the direction both they and the mob had gone for several minutes. Then she couldn't help but laugh again. It carried on for several minutes. A genuinely pleasant moment and she had a mysterious blonde prankster with a pet pig to thank for it.

She was so caught up in her happiness that when a hand was on her shoulder she jumped a bit. She turned to see a blonde girl looking the direction she just was.

"That's one strange kid. My name's Into, nice to meet you."

The pinkette took a breath and returned the greeting.

"Hello, I'm Sakura."

So a bad day turned into a good day by a boy, a pig, and a new friend. Things were looking up.


End file.
